"Untitled" (draft 1)

(draft 1)

This piece has no title or quote yet, but it will. This is only my initial start to a very intuitive painting process. It all begins with "mark making" on wet paper.

This draft will be even more interesting to you if you are in my "mark making" class this Saturday. This will be one of the intuitive type recordings and small works we will be doing.

I chose a different paper than the normal selections for watercolor. This happens to be Rives BFK. It is an excellent choice for mark making because it is a printmaking paper and much softer than normal watercolor choices. And yet it receives the watercolor beautifully.

The intuitive process began by wetting both sides of the paper with a sponge (lightly...since it will "pill" if rubbed too hard). The excess water was removed and I began by using two different sized watercolor brushes and neutral tint watercolor to draw lines from edge to edge. My next mark making choice was a stylus used to write into the wet and colored areas. I also used a bamboo pen to write a word and make a few more lines. I then slowed down the process by waiting for the paper to dry just a bit and using more concentrated neutral tint to make additional lines and even writing another word or two with a pointed brush.

You will also notice that there was no intention of making straight lines. It looks a lot less contrived if the marks are more organic. Some of the lines veer off to the side....creating small window shapes. After all was said and done, I left it to dry naturally until the water and pigment stopped moving and then I dried both sides with a hair dryer.

The next step was to glaze on several shapes of green watercolor over the first layer. It is important to keep a light touch and not keep going over one area more than (1) or (2) times. More than likely, there will be diluted gesso or bleedproof white gouache added to add an ethereal look as well as more watercolor. There will also be some pencil lettering created as I go along.

It is a great way to work and all begins with "mark making". Inscribing into wet paint is just one way to create your marks. In the next layer, you will see marks created on a dry surface which will provide a contrast to the softly blurred lines from today. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.